Dynamic video ad format based on user bitrate and bandwidth

ABSTRACT

This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods that facilitate employing bandwidth factors to determine, infer, or predict a client device buffer wait time or a client device buffer ratio associated with a video playback on a client device to select an advertisement format for the video and select an advertisement to accompany the video based upon the format.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/970,146, filed Dec. 15, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/148,360, filed Jan. 6, 2014, each of which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods that facilitateemploying bandwidth factors to determine, infer, or predict a clientdevice buffer wait time or a client device buffer ratio associated withvideo playback on a client device to select an advertisement format forthe video and select an advertisement to accompany the video based uponthe format.

BACKGROUND

Many video content websites provide for consumers to watch videoswithout paying a fee in exchange for being exposed to advertisements.Consumers generally are accepting of such arrangement as long as theadvertisement is not overly intrusive to their video experience. Forexample, a consumer that has to wait too long for a video to beginplaying or buffer during playback oftentimes terminates his attempt toplay the video. When excessive delay is the result of an advertisementplaying, consumers are even more likely to end attempting to play thevideo. Consequently, excessive wait time to play a video diminishesopportunity to monetize playback of the video with advertisements.

SUMMARY

A simplified summary is provided herein to help enable a basic orgeneral understanding of various aspects of exemplary, non-limitingembodiments that follow in the more detailed description and theaccompanying drawings. This summary is not intended, however, as anextensive or exhaustive overview. Instead, the purpose of this summaryis to present some concepts related to some exemplary non-limitingembodiments in simplified form as a prelude to more detailed descriptionof the various embodiments that follow in the disclosure.

In accordance with a non-limiting implementation, a request to play avideo is received from a client device, the video is streamed to theclient device, one or more bandwidth factors are received from theclient device, a client device buffer wait time is determined based atleast upon the one or more bandwidth factors, one or more advertisementformats are selected from a plurality of advertisement formats based onthe client device buffer wait time, an advertisement having anadvertisement format of the one or more advertisement formats isselected, and the advertisement provided to the client device.

In accordance with a non-limiting implementation, a request to play avideo is received from a client device, the video is streamed to theclient device, one or more bandwidth factors are received from theclient device, a client device buffer ratio is determined based at leastupon the one or more bandwidth factors, one or more advertisementformats are selected from a plurality of advertisement formats based onthe client device buffer ratio, an advertisement having an advertisementformat of the one or more advertisement formats is selected, and theadvertisement provided to the client device.

In accordance with a non-limiting implementation, a video presentationcomponent is configured to: receive, from a client device, a request toplay a video, and stream, to the client device, the video; a buffer waittime estimation component is configured to: receive from the clientdevice one or more bandwidth factors, and determine at least one of aclient device buffer wait time or a client device buffer ratio based atleast upon the one or more bandwidth factors; an ad format selectioncomponent is configured to select one or more advertisement formats froma plurality of advertisement formats based on the at least one of theclient device buffer wait time or the client device buffer ratio; an adselection component is configured to select an advertisement having anadvertisement format of the one or more advertisement formats; and an adpresentation component is configured to provide, to the client device,the advertisement.

These and other implementations and embodiments are described in moredetail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary non-limiting examplesystem delivering to a client device a video accompanied with anadvertisement have an advertisement format selected based upon at leastone of bandwidth factors, a client device buffer wait time, or a clientdevice buffer ratio in accordance with an implementation of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary non-limiting video adcomponent that delivers a video accompanied with an advertisement havean advertisement format selected based upon at least one of bandwidthfactors, a client device buffer wait time, or a client device bufferratio in accordance with an implementation of this disclosure.

FIG. 3A illustrates a non-limiting example of a banner advertisementformat presentation on a client device in accordance with animplementation of this disclosure.

FIG. 3B illustrates a non-limiting example of an animated advertisementformat presentation on a client device in accordance with animplementation of this disclosure.

FIG. 3C illustrates a non-limiting example of a video advertisementformat presentation on a client device in accordance with animplementation of this disclosure.

FIG. 3D illustrates a non-limiting example of an interactiveadvertisement format presentation on a client device in accordance withan implementation of this disclosure.

FIG. 3E illustrates a non-limiting example of a text advertisementformat presentation on a client device in accordance with animplementation of this disclosure.

FIG. 3F illustrates a non-limiting example of an image advertisementformat on a client device in accordance with an implementation of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary non-limiting flow diagram for selectingone or more advertisement formats for presentation of advertisementsduring playback of a video on a client device in accordance with animplementation of this disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary non-limiting flow diagram for receivingone or more advertisements for presentation during playback of a videoon a client device in accordance with an implementation of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary non-limitingnetworked environment in which various embodiments can be implemented.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary non-limitingcomputing system or operating environment in which various embodimentscan be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects or features of this disclosure are described withreference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used torefer to like elements throughout. In this specification, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of this disclosure. It should be understood, however, thatcertain aspects of this disclosure may be practiced without thesespecific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. Inother instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form to facilitate describing this disclosure.

In situations in which systems and methods described herein collectpersonal information about users, or may make use of personalinformation, the users can be provided with an opportunity to controlwhether programs or features collect user information (e.g., informationabout a user's social network, social actions or activities, profession,a user's preferences, or a user's current location), or to controlwhether or how to receive content from the content server that may bemore relevant to the user. In addition, certain data can be treated inone or more ways before it is stored or used, so that personallyidentifiable information is removed. For example, a user's identity canbe treated so that no personally identifiable information can bedetermined for the user, or a user's geographic location can begeneralized where location information is obtained (e.g., such as to acity, ZIP code, or state level), so that a particular location of a usercannot be determined. The user can add, delete, or modify informationabout the user. Thus, the user can control how information is collectedabout her and used by a server.

In accordance with various disclosed aspects, a mechanism is providedfor identifying bandwidth factors associated with video playback on aclient device to determine, infer, or predict a client device bufferwait time or a client device buffer ratio. The bandwidth factors, aclient device buffer wait time, and/or a client device buffer ratio areemployed select one or more advertisement formats for an advertisementto accompany playback of the video. An advertisement in an advertisementformat of the one or more advertisement formats, is selected toaccompany playback of the video.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts a system 100 fordelivering to a client device a video accompanied with an advertisementhave an advertisement format selected based upon at least one ofbandwidth factors, a client device buffer wait time, or a client devicebuffer ratio. System 100 includes server 110 that includes video adcomponent 120 that delivers a video accompanied with an advertisementhave an advertisement format selected based upon at least one ofbandwidth factors, a client device buffer wait time, or a client devicebuffer ratio.

Server 110 also includes interface component 130 that that interactswith client device(s) 150 to facilitate exchange of data. Additionally,server 110 includes a data store 140 that can store videos, and datagenerated and received by server 110, video ad component 120, andinterface component 130. Data store 140 can be stored on any suitabletype of storage device, non-limiting examples of which are illustratedwith reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

It is to be appreciated that while examples herein depict video adcomponent 120 residing on server 110, some or all functions orcomponents of video ad component 120 can reside and execute on clientdevice 150.

Server 110 and client device 150 include at least one memory that storescomputer executable components and at least one processor that executesthe computer executable components stored in the memory, a non-limitingexample of which can be found with reference to FIG. 7. Server 110 cancommunicate via a wired and/or wireless network with client device 150.

Server 110 and client device 150 can be any suitable type of device forrecording, interacting with, receiving, accessing, or supplying datalocally, or remotely over a wired or wireless communication link,non-limiting examples of include a wearable device or a non-wearabledevice. Wearable device can include, for example, heads-up displayglasses, a monocle, eyeglasses, contact lens, sunglasses, a headset, avisor, a cap, a helmet, a mask, a headband, clothing, camera, videocamera, or any other suitable device capable of recording, interactingwith, receiving, accessing, or supplying data that can be worn by ahuman or non-human user. Non-wearable device can include, for example, amobile device, a mobile phone, a camera, a camcorder, a video camera,personal data assistant, laptop computer, tablet computer, desktopcomputer, server system, cable set top box, satellite set top box, cablemodem, television set, monitor, media extender device, Blu-ray device,DVD (digital versatile disc or digital video disc) device, compact discdevice, video game system, portable video game console, audio/videoreceiver, radio device, portable music player, navigation system, carstereo, motion sensor, infrared sensor, or any other suitable devicecapable of recording, interacting with, receiving, accessing, orsupplying data. Moreover, server 110 and device 150 can include a userinterface (e.g., a web browser or application), that can receive andpresent displays and data generated locally or remotely.

FIG. 2 illustrates video ad component 120 that includes a videopresentation component 210 that provides a requested video forpresentation on client device 150. Video ad component 120 also includesbuffer wait time estimation component 220 that estimates a client devicebuffer wait time and/or a client device buffer ratio for playback of therequested video on client device 150 based upon bandwidth factors.Additionally, video ad component 120 includes ad format selectioncomponent 230 that determines one or more advertisement formats forpresentation of an advertisement with the requested video. In addition,video ad component 120 includes ad selection component 240 that selectsan advertisement, having an advertisement format of the one or moreadvertisement formats, to present with the requested video. Video adcomponent 120 also includes ad presentation component 250 that providesthe selected advertisement to client device 150 for presentation withthe requested video.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 2, in a non-limiting example, videopresentation component 210 receives a request to play a video from aclient device 150, or if video presentation component 210 resides onclient device 150, from an application or input component on clientdevice 150. Video presentation component 210 provides the requestedvideo (or an identification of where to access the requested video) toclient device 150 or a video application on client device 150 forplayback. Furthermore, it is to be appreciated that the requested videocan reside on server 110, client device 150, or on another remote device(not shown). The requested video can be live streamed to client device150, provided via video on demand, retrieved from a local storage onclient device 150, or provided to client device 150 or an application onclient device 150 by any suitable mechanism.

Buffer wait time estimation component 220 can determine, infer, predictor receive bandwidth factors associated with client device 150. In anon-limiting example, server 110 receives one or more bandwidth factorsfrom client device 150. In another non-limiting example, server 110determines, infers, or predicts one or more bandwidth factors associatedwith client device 150. In a further example, server 110 receives one ormore bandwidth factors from client device 150, and determines, infers,or predicts one or more bandwidth factors associated with client device150. Non-limiting examples of bandwidth factors can include type ofdevice (e.g., manufacturer, model, version, operating system, or anyother suitable identifier of type of device), type of communicationnetwork (e.g. IEEE 802.11 a\b\g\n\ac, Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Code division multiple access (CDMA), Timedivision multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, near field communication(NFC), General packet radio service (GPRS), Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), EnhancedData rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Wideband Code Division MultipleAccess (W-CDMA), Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access(TD-SCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX),Long Term Evolution Advanced (E-UTRA), Evolved High-Speed Packet Access,Universal Mobile Telecommunications System-frequency-division duplexing(UMTS-FDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System-time-divisionduplexing (UMTS-TDD), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), EvolvedHigh-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), Enhanced Voice-Data Optimized (EVDO),Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA), High Capacity Spatial DivisionMultiple Access (HC-SDMA), infrared, lightwave or optical basedstandard, or any other suitable wireless communication standard), typeof client application (e.g., operating system native application, webbrowser, mobile web browser, or any other suitable identifier of type ofclient application), observed bit rate at buffering on client device 150(e.g., this is typically different than the specified bit rate of thenetwork, time of day (e.g. this can be an important factor if upstreamcongestion is a cause of video buffer delay), geographic location of theserver 110 and/or client device 150, length of the requested video (e.g.a short video may buffer enough content for the entire video to playwithout a pause, while a long video may buffer only a portion of thevideo before a pause is experienced), or type of video (e.g. livestream, video on demand, color video, black and white video, videoresolution, three-dimensional video, video size, video format, audioformat, or any other suitable characteristic of a video that can beemployed to describe type of video).

Buffer wait time estimation component 220 employs the bandwidth factorsto determine, infer, or predict a client device buffer wait time and/ora client device buffer ratio for playback of the requested video onclient device 150. Generally, when a request for playing a video on aclient device 150 is received, portions of the video are buffered in alocal memory buffer of the client device 150 and read out of the localmemory buffer for playback. This buffering can cause a delay from therequest time to the time when the video starts playing, or when there isa pause in playback of the video, which are called the buffer wait time.The bandwidth factors are combined with historical data (e.g. previousmeasurements of actual bits per second of bandwidth and the actualvalues of the bandwidth factors) to produce an estimate of bits persecond (bps) of bandwidth. In a non-limiting example, an off-lineregression analysis (e.g. updated periodically) over the historical datacan be performed to produce a linear combination of historical bandwidthfactors to estimate the current bits per second of bandwidth. In afurther non-limiting example, each bandwidth factor can be assigned aweight, which when multiplied with the respective bandwidth factors andsummed, produces an estimate for the current bits per second ofbandwidth. The weight values could be stored in a lookup data that isupdated each time the estimating process runs. The estimate of bits persecond of bandwidth is combined with the bits per second of the video todetermine the buffer wait time. For instance if the estimated bandwidthis 1000 bps (based on the bandwidth factors and historical data), andthe video plays at 2000 bps, it takes 2000/1000=2 seconds to download 1second of video. If the buffer length is 10 seconds, then the bufferwait time is 10*2=20 seconds. Thus, the buffer wait time is:

${{buffer}\mspace{14mu} {wait}\mspace{14mu} {time}} = {\left( \frac{{video}\mspace{14mu} {playback}\mspace{14mu} {rate}}{{estimated}\mspace{14mu} {bandwidth}} \right) \times {buffer}\mspace{14mu} {length}}$

The client device buffer ratio is the total buffer wait time for thevideo over the total time of playback of the video. It is to beappreciated that while buffer wait time estimation component 220 isdepicted herein as executing on server 110, in another non-limitingexample, buffer wait time estimation component 220 can execute on clientdevice 150 which can send the client device buffer wait time and/or theclient device buffer ratio to server 110. In a further non-limitingexample, server 110 can optionally, based on one or more criteria (e.g.,a factor client device 150 may not be aware of, such as networkcongestion, data center overload, and network topology changes (e.g.,traffic is normally served to client in Asia from an Asian data center,but perhaps the data center in Asia is down and the traffic is servedfrom North America instead leading to longer buffer times), or any othersuitable factor), override the client device buffer wait time and/or theclient device buffer ratio from client device 150 and employ a clientdevice buffer wait time and/or a client device buffer ratio determinedby server 110. Furthermore, buffer wait time estimation component 220can employ a previously determined client device buffer wait time and/orclient device buffer ratio for client device 150 until a new clientdevice buffer wait time and/or client device buffer ratio for clientdevice 150 is determined.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 2, ad format selection component 230employs the client device buffer wait time and/or the client devicebuffer ratio to select one or more advertisement formats for playback ofthe requested video on client device 150. Advertisement formats caninclude, in a non-limiting example, a text advertisement, a videoadvertisement, an image advertisement, a banner advertisement, ananimated advertisement, an interactive advertisement, an audioadvertisement, pre-roll advertisement, post-roll advertisement,in-stream advertisement, a pre-downloaded advertisement, skippable ad,or any other suitable advertisement format. Ad format selectioncomponent 230 can optionally employ a previously determined clientdevice buffer wait time and/or client device buffer ratio for clientdevice 150 until a new client device buffer wait time and/or clientdevice buffer ratio for client device 150 is determined. In anon-limiting example, in order to speed the process for presentation ofa pre-roll advertisement with a requested video, a previously determinedclient device buffer wait time and/or client device buffer ratio forclient device 150 can be employed for selecting advertisement formats.It is to be appreciated that ad format selection component 230 canemploy any suitable mechanism for selecting an advertisement formatbased upon client device buffer wait time and/or the client devicebuffer ratio, non-limiting examples of which include an algorithm, amapping of advertisement formats to client device buffer wait timeand/or the client device buffer ratio values, a classifier, or any othersuitable mechanism. Furthermore, ad format selection component 230 canalso employ additional criteria to select the one or more advertisementformats for playback of the requested video on client device 150, suchas in a non-limiting example, a list of advertisement formats supportedby client device 150 (e.g. determined by the server for client device150 based upon information about client device 150 or received fromclient device 150) to restrict selection of the one or moreadvertisement formats from the list of advertisement formats supportedby client device 150. Additionally, server 110 can employ criteria forselection of the one or more advertisement formats, such as in anon-limiting example, an advertisement format effectiveness measure(e.g. monetary, click through rate, interaction rate, interaction time,ad visibility (e.g. was the ad ever visible on the screen and for howlong, or did the user scroll past it quickly), or any other suitablemeasure of advertisement format effectiveness) or advertisement formatrestrictions associated with an advertiser. For example, if the clientdevice buffer wait time is high (e.g. above a threshold) and/or theclient device buffer ratio is high (e.g. above a threshold), anadvertisement format that decreases impact on the client device bufferwait time is high and/or the client device buffer ratio can be selected.Alternatively, if the client device buffer wait time is low (e.g. belowa threshold) and/or the client device buffer ratio is low (e.g. below athreshold), an advertisement format that increases impact on the clientdevice buffer wait time and/or the client device buffer ratio can beselected given that the user has not experienced much delay and may bewilling to tolerate additional delay. In a further example, historicaltolerance of client device buffer wait time and/or the client devicebuffer ratio can be tracked for a user and employed as a factor inselection of advertisement formats for the user. It is to be appreciatedthat while ad format selection component 230 is depicted herein asexecuting on server 110, in another non-limiting example, ad formatselection component 230 can execute on client device 150, which can sendthe selected one or more advertisement formats to server 110. In afurther non-limiting example, server 110 can optionally, based on one ormore criteria (e.g., a factor client device 150 may not be aware of,such as network congestion, data center overload, and network topologychanges (e.g., traffic is normally served to client in Asia from anAsian data center, but perhaps the data center in Asia is down and thetraffic is served from North America instead leading to longer buffertimes), advertisement format effectiveness, or any other suitablefactor), override the selected one or more advertisement formats fromclient device 150 and employ one or more advertisement formatsdetermined by server 110.

FIG. 3A illustrates a non-limiting example of a banner advertisementformat presentation on client device 150. Video application 310 onclient device 150 is playing an elephant video which has advertisement320 in a banner advertisement format. It is to be appreciated that abanner advertisement can comprise text, graphics, images, animations,video, and/or audio and are typically placed at/near a border of contentbeing presented. FIG. 3B is a non-limiting example of an animatedadvertisement format presentation on client device 150. Videoapplication 310 is playing elephant video which has advertisement 330overlaid in an animated advertisement format. It is to be appreciatedthat an animation advertisement can comprise a series of frames of text,graphics, images and/or audio to form an animation. FIG. 3C is anon-limiting example of a video advertisement format presentation onclient device 150. Video application 310 is playing elephant video whichhas advertisement 340 presented during a buffer wait time in a videoadvertisement format. A video advertisement comprises a video. FIG. 3Dis a non-limiting example of an interactive advertisement formatpresentation on client device 150. Video application 310 is playingelephant video which has advertisement 350 overlaid in an interactiveadvertisement format with selectable element 355 that a user can selectto make the surfer fall. It is to be appreciated that an interactiveadvertisement can text, graphics, images, animations, video, and/oraudio and has a mechanism that allows for user interaction with theadvertisement (e.g. survey, button, hyperlink, game, or any othersuitable user interactive element). FIG. 3E is a non-limiting example ofa text advertisement format presentation on client device 150. Videoapplication 310 is playing elephant video which has advertisement 360overlaid in a text advertisement format. A text advertisement onlydisplays text. FIG. 3F is a non-limiting example of an imageadvertisement format presentation on client device 150. Videoapplication 310 is playing elephant video which has advertisement 370overlaid in an image advertisement format. An image advertisement onlydisplays a static image. It is to be appreciated advertisements 320,330, 340, 350, 360, and 370 can be located at any suitable location onthe display(s) of client device 150 and presented at any suitable timewith playback of a video. Furthermore, an advertisement can comprise amix of one or more advertisement formats. Additionally, an advertisementformat can include a pre-downloaded or cached advertisement on clientdevice 150.

It is to be appreciated that respective advertisements formats can havediffering impacts (e.g. increase or decrease) client device buffer waittime and/or client device buffer ratio. As format selection component230 can factor respective impacts on client device buffer wait timeand/or client device buffer ratio in selecting the one or moreadvertisement formats.

Ad selection component 240 can employ the selected one or moreadvertisement formats for playback of the requested video on clientdevice 150 to select one or more advertisements having respectiveadvertisement formats of the selected one or more advertisement formatsfor presentation with the requested video on client device 150. It is tobe appreciated that ad format selection component 230 can employ anysuitable mechanism for selecting an advertisement, non-limiting examplesof which include a formula, an algorithm, an auction, random selection,a predefined list of advertisements, a dynamically determined list ofadvertisements, input from an advertiser, user demographics, user videoplayback history, user preferences, or any other suitable mechanism forselection of an advertisement. In a non-limiting example, if theselected advertisement formats include text, banner, and animatedadvertisement, ad selection component 240 can restrict selection ofadvertisements to only those having text, banner, or animatedadvertisement formats. Furthermore, ad selection component 240 can alsoemploy additional criteria to select the one or more advertisement forpresentation with the requested video on client device 150, such as in anon-limiting example, an advertisement effectiveness measure (e.g.monetary, click through rate, interaction rate, interaction time, advisibility (e.g. was the ad ever visible on the screen and for how long,or did the user scroll past it quickly), or any other suitable measureof advertisement effectiveness), demographics of a user viewing thevideo, or a monetary value to an advertiser, an owner of the server, oran owner of video ad component 120. In another example, client device150 can select one or more advertisements having respectiveadvertisement formats of the selected one or more advertisement formatsfor presentation with the requested video. In a further example, clientdevice 150 can override, based upon one or more criteria (e.g. a factorthat server 110 may not be aware of such as change in processingavailability on client device 150, activation of another application bya user of client device 150, eye tracking, or any other suitablefactor), selection of the one or more advertisements from server 110 infavor of selection by client device 150 of one or more advertisementformats having respective advertisement formats of the selected one ormore advertisement formats.

Ad presentation component 250 provides the selected one or moreadvertisements (or an identification of where to access the selected oneor more advertisements) to client device 150 for presentation with therequested video. Ad presentation component 250 can also provideinstructions to client device 150 of where (e.g. in border, overlay,separate window, or any other suitable location), when (e.g. pre-rollprior to video playback, concurrent (e.g. in-stream) with videoplayback, or post-roll after video playback), or how (e.g. interactive,click to skip, click to start playback of video, projected external toclient device 150, or any other suitable mechanism describing how theadvertisement is presented) to present the advertisement with the video.In another example, client device 150 can determine or override where,when, or how to present the advertisement with the video. Furthermore,ad presentation component 250 can instruct client device 150 to bufferthe selected one or more advertisements before, after, or concurrentlywith buffering the requested video.

FIGS. 4-5 illustrate various methods in accordance with certaindisclosed aspects. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, themethodologies are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to beunderstood and appreciated that the disclosed aspects are not limited bythe order of acts, as some acts may occur in different orders and/orconcurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. Forexample, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that amethodology can alternatively be represented as a series of interrelatedstates or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not allillustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology inaccordance with certain disclosed aspects. Additionally, it is to befurther appreciated that the methodologies disclosed hereinafter andthroughout this disclosure are capable of being stored on an article ofmanufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring suchmethodologies to computers.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary method 400 for selecting one or moreadvertisement formats for presentation of advertisements during playbackof a video on a client device. At reference numeral 410, a request toplay a video on client device is received (e.g., by a video presentationcomponent 210, video ad component 120, interface component 130, server110, or client device 150). At reference numeral 420, the requestedvideo or an identifier of where to access the requested video isprovided to or accessed by client device to present the requested video(e.g., by a video presentation component 210, video ad component 120,interface component 130, server 110, or client device 150). At referencenumeral 430, one or more bandwidth factors associated with the clientdevice are determined, inferring, predicted, or received (e.g., by abuffer wait time estimation component 220, video ad component 120,server 110, or client device 150). At reference numeral 440, a clientdevice buffer wait time and/or a client device buffer time associatedwith the client device is determined based at least upon the one or morebandwidth factors (e.g., by a buffer wait time estimation component 220,video ad component 120, server 110, or client device 150). At referencenumeral 450, one or more advertisement formats for presentation ofadvertisements with the requested video are selected based at least uponthe client device buffer wait time and/or the client device buffer time(e.g., by ad format selection component 230, video ad component 120,server 110, or client device 150). At reference numeral 460, one or moreadvertisements having respective advertisement formats of the one ormore selected advertisement formats are selected (e.g., by a selectioncomponent 240, video ad component 120, server 110, or client device150). At reference numeral 420, the selected one or more advertisementsare provided to or accessed by client device to present with therequested video (e.g., by an ad presentation component 250, video adcomponent 120, interface component 130, server 110, or client device150).

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method 500 for receiving one or moreadvertisements for presentation during playback of a video on a clientdevice (e.g., by client device 150). At reference numeral 510, a requestto play a video on the client device is sent to a server. At referencenumeral 520, the requested video or an identifier of where to access therequested video is received from the server. At reference numeral 530,one or more bandwidth factors associated with the client device aredetermined, inferring, predicted, or received. At reference numeral 540,the one or more bandwidth factors are sent to the server. At referencenumeral 550, one or more advertisements are received from the serverhaving respective formats from a selected one or more advertisementformats based upon a client device buffer wait time and/or a clientdevice buffer ratio determined from at least the one or more bandwidthfactors. At reference numeral 560, the one or more advertisements arepresented with the requested video.

Exemplary Networked and Distributed Environments

One of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that the variousembodiments described herein can be implemented in connection with anycomputer or other client or server device, which can be deployed as partof a computer network or in a distributed computing environment, and canbe connected to any kind of data store where media may be found. In thisregard, the various embodiments described herein can be implemented inany computer system or environment having any number of memory orstorage units, and any number of applications and processes occurringacross any number of storage units. This includes, but is not limitedto, an environment with server computers and client computers deployedin a network environment or a distributed computing environment, havingremote or local storage.

Distributed computing provides sharing of computer resources andservices by communicative exchange among computing devices and systems.These resources and services include the exchange of information, cachestorage and disk storage for objects, such as files. These resources andservices can also include the sharing of processing power acrossmultiple processing units for load balancing, expansion of resources,specialization of processing, and the like. Distributed computing takesadvantage of network connectivity, allowing clients to leverage theircollective power to benefit the entire enterprise. In this regard, avariety of devices may have applications, objects or resources that mayparticipate in the various embodiments of this disclosure.

FIG. 6 provides a schematic diagram of an exemplary networked ordistributed computing environment. The distributed computing environmentcomprises computing objects 610, 612, etc. and computing objects ordevices 618, 620, 622, 624, 626, 628, etc., which may include programs,methods, data stores, programmable logic, etc., as represented byapplications 630, 632, 634, 636, 638. It can be appreciated thatcomputing objects 610, 612, etc. and computing objects or devices 618,620, 622, 624, 626, 628, etc. may comprise different devices, such aspersonal digital assistants (PDAs), audio/video devices, mobile phones,MP3 players, personal computers, laptops, tablets, etc.

Each computing object 610, 612, etc. and computing objects or devices618, 620, 622, 624, 626, 628, etc. can communicate with one or moreother computing objects 610, 612, etc. and computing objects or devices618, 620, 622, 624, 626, 628, etc. by way of the communications network640, either directly or indirectly. Even though illustrated as a singleelement in FIG. 6, network 640 may comprise other computing objects andcomputing devices that provide services to the system of FIG. 6, and/ormay represent multiple interconnected networks, which are not shown.Each computing object 610, 612, etc. or computing objects or devices618, 620, 622, 624, 626, 628, etc. can also contain an application, suchas applications 630, 632, 634, 636, 638, that might make use of an API,or other object, software, firmware and/or hardware, suitable forcommunication with or implementation of various embodiments of thisdisclosure.

There are a variety of systems, components, and network configurationsthat support distributed computing environments. For example, computingsystems can be connected together by wired or wireless systems, by localnetworks or widely distributed networks. Currently, many networks arecoupled to the Internet, which provides an infrastructure for widelydistributed computing and encompasses many different networks, thoughany suitable network infrastructure can be used for exemplarycommunications made incident to the systems as described in variousembodiments herein.

Thus, a host of network topologies and network infrastructures, such asclient/server, peer-to-peer, or hybrid architectures, can be utilized.The “client” is a member of a class or group that uses the services ofanother class or group. A client can be a computer process, e.g.,roughly a set of instructions or tasks, that requests a service providedby another program or process. A client process may utilize therequested service without having to “know” all working details about theother program or the service itself.

In a client/server architecture, particularly a networked system, aclient can be a computer that accesses shared network resources providedby another computer, e.g., a server. In the illustration of FIG. 6, as anon-limiting example, computing objects or devices 618, 620, 622, 624,626, 628, etc. can be thought of as clients and computing objects 610,612, etc. can be thought of as servers where computing objects 610, 612,etc. provide data services, such as receiving data from client computingobjects or devices 618, 620, 622, 624, 626, 628, etc., storing of data,processing of data, transmitting data to client computing objects ordevices 618, 620, 622, 624, 626, 628, etc., although any computer can beconsidered a client, a server, or both, depending on the circumstances.Any of these computing devices may be processing data, or requestingtransaction services or tasks that may implicate the techniques forsystems as described herein for one or more embodiments.

A server is typically a remote computer system accessible over a remoteor local network, such as the Internet or wireless networkinfrastructures. The client process may be active in a first computersystem, and the server process may be active in a second computersystem, communicating with one another over a communications medium,thus providing distributed functionality and allowing multiple clientsto take advantage of the information-gathering capabilities of theserver. Any software objects utilized pursuant to the techniquesdescribed herein can be provided standalone, or distributed acrossmultiple computing devices or objects.

In a network environment in which the communications network/bus 640 isthe Internet, for example, the computing objects 610, 612, etc. can beWeb servers, file servers, media servers, etc. with which the clientcomputing objects or devices 618, 620, 622, 624, 626, 628, etc.communicate via any of a number of known protocols, such as thehypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Objects 610, 612, etc. may alsoserve as client computing objects or devices 618, 620, 622, 624, 626,628, etc., as may be characteristic of a distributed computingenvironment.

Exemplary Computing Device

As mentioned, advantageously, the techniques described herein can beapplied to any suitable device. It is to be understood, therefore, thathandheld, portable and other computing devices and computing objects ofall kinds are contemplated for use in connection with the variousembodiments. Accordingly, the computer described below in FIG. 7 is butone example of a computing device that can be employed with implementingone or more of the systems or methods shown and described in connectionwith FIGS. 1-5. Additionally, a suitable server can include one or moreaspects of the below computer, such as a media server or other mediamanagement server components.

Although not required, embodiments can partly be implemented via anoperating system, for use by a developer of services for a device orobject, and/or included within application software that operates toperform one or more functional aspects of the various embodimentsdescribed herein. Software may be described in the general context ofcomputer executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by one or more computers, such as client workstations, serversor other devices. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that computersystems have a variety of configurations and protocols that can be usedto communicate data, and thus, no particular configuration or protocolis to be considered limiting.

FIG. 7 thus illustrates an example of a suitable computing systemenvironment 700 in which one or aspects of the embodiments describedherein can be implemented, although as made clear above, the computingsystem environment 700 is only one example of a suitable computingenvironment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to scope ofuse or functionality. Neither is the computing environment 700 beinterpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any oneor combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operatingenvironment 700.

With reference to FIG. 7, an exemplary computing device for implementingone or more embodiments in the form of a computer 710 is depicted.Components of computer 710 may include, but are not limited to, aprocessing unit 720, a system memory 730, and a system bus 722 thatcouples various system components including the system memory to theprocessing unit 720.

Computer 710 typically includes a variety of computer readable media andcan be any available media that can be accessed by computer 710. Thesystem memory 730 may include computer storage media in the form ofvolatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and/orrandom access memory (RAM). By way of example, and not limitation,system memory 730 may also include an operating system, applicationprograms, other program modules, and program data.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 710 throughinput devices 740, non-limiting examples of which can include akeyboard, keypad, a pointing device, a mouse, stylus, touchpad,touchscreen, trackball, motion detector, camera, microphone, joystick,game pad, scanner, or any other device that allows the user to interactwith computer 710. A monitor or other type of display device is alsoconnected to the system bus 722 via an interface, such as outputinterface 750. In addition to a monitor, computers can also includeother peripheral output devices such as speakers and a printer, whichmay be connected through output interface 750.

The computer 710 may operate in a networked or distributed environmentusing logical connections to one or more other remote computers, such asremote computer 770 via network interface 760. The remote computer 770may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peerdevice or other common network node, or any other remote mediaconsumption or transmission device, and may include any or all of theelements described above relative to the computer 710. The logicalconnections depicted in FIG. 7 include a network 772, such local areanetwork (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), but may also include othernetworks/buses e.g., cellular networks.

As mentioned above, while exemplary embodiments have been described inconnection with various computing devices and network architectures, theunderlying concepts may be applied to any network system and anycomputing device or system in which it is desirable to publish orconsume media in a flexible way.

Also, there are multiple ways to implement the same or similarfunctionality, e.g., an appropriate API, tool kit, driver code,operating system, control, standalone or downloadable software object,etc. which enables applications and services to take advantage of thetechniques described herein. Thus, embodiments herein are contemplatedfrom the standpoint of an API (or other software object), as well asfrom a software or hardware object that implements one or more aspectsdescribed herein. Thus, various embodiments described herein can haveaspects that are wholly in hardware, partly in hardware and partly insoftware, as well as in software.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example,instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the aspectsdisclosed herein are not limited by such examples. In addition, anyaspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily tobe construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs,nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures andtechniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, tothe extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and othersimilar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims,for the avoidance of doubt, such terms are intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition wordwithout precluding any additional or other elements.

Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which caninclude computer-readable storage media and/or communications media, inwhich these two terms are used herein differently from one another asfollows. Computer-readable storage media can be any available storagemedia that can be accessed by the computer, is typically of anon-transitory nature, and can include both volatile and nonvolatilemedia, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer-readable storage media can be implemented inconnection with any method or technology for storage of information suchas computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, orunstructured data. Computer-readable storage media can include, but arenot limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical diskstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitorymedia which can be used to store desired information. Computer-readablestorage media can be accessed by one or more local or remote computingdevices, e.g., via access requests, queries or other data retrievalprotocols, for a variety of operations with respect to the informationstored by the medium.

On the other hand, communications media typically embodycomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as amodulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and includes any information delivery or transport media. Theterm “modulated data signal” or signals refers to a signal that has oneor more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as toencode information in one or more signals. By way of example, and notlimitation, communication media include wired media, such as a wirednetwork or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic,RF, infrared and other wireless media.

As mentioned, the various techniques described herein may be implementedin connection with hardware or software or, where appropriate, with acombination of both. As used herein, the terms “component,” “system” andthe like are likewise intended to refer to a computer-related entity,either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. For example, a component may be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running oncomputer and the computer can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. Further, a “device” can come in the form of speciallydesigned hardware; generalized hardware made specialized by theexecution of software thereon that enables the hardware to performspecific function (e.g., coding and/or decoding); software stored on acomputer readable medium; or a combination thereof.

The aforementioned systems have been described with respect tointeraction between several components. It can be appreciated that suchsystems and components can include those components or specifiedsub-components, some of the specified components or sub-components,and/or additional components, and according to various permutations andcombinations of the foregoing. Sub-components can also be implemented ascomponents communicatively coupled to other components rather thanincluded within parent components (hierarchical). Additionally, it is tobe noted that one or more components may be combined into a singlecomponent providing aggregate functionality or divided into severalseparate sub-components, and that any one or more middle layers, such asa management layer, may be provided to communicatively couple to suchsub-components in order to provide integrated functionality. Anycomponents described herein may also interact with one or more othercomponents not specifically described herein but generally known bythose of skill in the art.

In order to provide for or aid in the numerous inferences describedherein (e.g. inferring relationships between metadata or inferringtopics of interest to users), components described herein can examinethe entirety or a subset of the data to which it is granted access andcan provide for reasoning about or infer states of the system,environment, etc. from a set of observations as captured via eventsand/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context oraction, or can generate a probability distribution over states, forexample. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, the computation ofa probability distribution over states of interest based on aconsideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniquesemployed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/ordata.

Such inference can result in the construction of new events or actionsfrom a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or notthe events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether theevents and data come from one or several event and data sources. Variousclassification (explicitly and/or implicitly trained) schemes and/orsystems (e.g., support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems,Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines, etc.) can beemployed in connection with performing automatic and/or inferred actionin connection with the claimed subject matter.

A classifier can map an input attribute vector, z=(z1, z2, z3, z4, zn),to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, as byf(z)=confidence(class). Such classification can employ a probabilisticand/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysisutilities and costs) to prognose or infer an action that a user desiresto be automatically performed. A support vector machine (SVM) is anexample of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates byfinding a hyper-surface in the space of possible inputs, where thehyper-surface attempts to split the triggering criteria from thenon-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classificationcorrect for testing data that is near, but not identical to trainingdata. Other directed and undirected model classification approachesinclude, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neuralnetworks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification modelsproviding different patterns of independence can be employed.Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statisticalregression that is utilized to develop models of priority.

In view of the exemplary systems described above, methodologies that maybe implemented in accordance with the described subject matter will bebetter appreciated with reference to the flowcharts of the variousfigures. While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, themethodologies are shown and described as a series of blocks, it is to beunderstood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is notlimited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what isdepicted and described herein. Where non-sequential, or branched, flowis illustrated via flowchart, it can be appreciated that various otherbranches, flow paths, and orders of the blocks, may be implemented whichachieve the same or a similar result. Moreover, not all illustratedblocks may be required to implement the methodologies describedhereinafter.

In addition to the various embodiments described herein, it is to beunderstood that other similar embodiments can be used or modificationsand additions can be made to the described embodiment(s) for performingthe same or equivalent function of the corresponding embodiment(s)without deviating there from. Still further, multiple processing chipsor multiple devices can share the performance of one or more functionsdescribed herein, and similarly, storage can be effected across aplurality of devices. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited toany single embodiment, but rather can be construed in breadth, spiritand scope in accordance with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, from a client device, a request to present a media item; causing the media item to be presented on the client device in response to receiving the request; determining an estimated bandwidth of the client device while presenting the media item on the client device; selecting an advertisement format from a plurality of advertisement formats based on the estimated bandwidth; in response to selecting the advertisement format, selecting an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements based on the selected advertisement format, wherein the advertisement has the selected advertisement format; and causing the advertisement to be presented in connection with the media item.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a plurality of bandwidth factors that are associated with presenting the media item on the client device; and receiving a plurality of historical bandwidth factors that include previous measurements of bandwidth at different times, wherein the estimated bandwidth of the client device is determined by combining the plurality of bandwidth factors with the plurality of historical bandwidth factors and wherein each of the plurality of bandwidth factors is assigned a weight.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the media item is presented at a media playback rate and wherein the method further comprises determining a client device buffer information by combining the media playback rate with the estimated bandwidth and a buffer length.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the advertisement format is selected from the plurality of advertisement formats based on the determined client device buffer information.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the client device buffer information includes a client buffer wait time that is based on the estimated bandwidth, the media playback rate, and the buffer length.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the client device buffer information includes a client device buffer ratio that represents a total buffer wait time for the media item over a total time of playback of the media item.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to present the advertisement concurrently with presenting the media item.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to present the advertisement after the media item has begun being presented.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to present the advertisement while at least a portion of the media item is being buffered.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to buffer the advertisement concurrently with buffering at least a portion of the media item.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving one or more advertisement format restrictions associated with an advertiser, wherein the advertisement format is selected from the plurality of advertisement formats based at least in part on the one or more advertisement format restrictions associated with the advertiser.
 12. A system, comprising: a hardware processor that: receives, from a client device, a request to present a media item; causes the media item to be presented on the client device in response to receiving the request; determines an estimated bandwidth of the client device while presenting the media item on the client device; selects an advertisement format from a plurality of advertisement formats based on the estimated bandwidth; in response to selecting the advertisement format, selects an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements based on the selected advertisement format, wherein the advertisement has the selected advertisement format; and causes the advertisement to be presented in connection with the media item.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to: determine a plurality of bandwidth factors that are associated with presenting the media item on the client device; and receive a plurality of historical bandwidth factors that include previous measurements of bandwidth at different times, wherein the estimated bandwidth of the client device is determined by combining the plurality of bandwidth factors with the plurality of historical bandwidth factors and wherein each of the plurality of bandwidth factors is assigned a weight.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the media item is presented at a media playback rate and wherein the hardware processor is further configured to determine a client device buffer information by combining the media playback rate with the estimated bandwidth and a buffer length.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein the advertisement format is selected from the plurality of advertisement formats based on the determined client device buffer information.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the client device buffer information includes a client buffer wait time that is based on the estimated bandwidth, the media playback rate, and the buffer length.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the client device buffer information includes a client device buffer ratio that represents a total buffer wait time for the media item over a total time of playback of the media item.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein the causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to present the advertisement concurrently with presenting the media item.
 19. The system of claim 12, wherein the causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to present the advertisement after the media item has begun being presented.
 20. The system of claim 12, wherein causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to present the advertisement while at least a portion of the media item is being buffered.
 21. The system of claim 12, wherein causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to buffer the advertisement concurrently with buffering at least a portion of the media item.
 22. The system of claim 12, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to receive one or more advertisement format restrictions associated with an advertiser, wherein the advertisement format is selected from the plurality of advertisement formats based at least in part on the one or more advertisement format restrictions associated with the advertiser.
 23. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising: receiving, from a client device, a request to present a media item; causing the media item to be presented on the client device in response to receiving the request; determining an estimated bandwidth of the client device while presenting the media item on the client device; selecting an advertisement format from a plurality of advertisement formats based on the estimated bandwidth; in response to selecting the advertisement format, selecting an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements based on the selected advertisement format, wherein the advertisement has the selected advertisement format; and causing the advertisement to be presented in connection with the media item. 